CHAPTER m. 

 HOW TO TELL A HORSE'S AGE., 



» XlfOWLEDGE OF CHANGES IN THE TEETH THE ONLY MEANS. THIS CHAyTOa TO BB 



STUDIED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACCOMPANYING CHART. BUYERS LIKELY, WITH- 

 OUT THIS KNOWLEDGE, TO BE DECEIVED. INCISORS CHIEFLY TO BE RELIED ON. 



CONDITION OF A FOAL'S MOUTH. THE CHANGES THAT FOLLOW. HOW FOAL TEETH 



ARK TO BB DISTINGUISHED FROM HORSE TEETH. WEARING AWAY OF THE GRINDER OR 



ENAMELLED PORTION. NUMBER OF TEETH EN A FULL-GROWN ANIMAL. DIFFERENCE 



BETWEEN HORSES AND MARES AS TO NUMBER. INCISORS, HOOKS, AND "wOLF'S TEETH." 



HOW TO DETERMINE AGE TILL FOAL IS TWO YEARS OLD. HOW FROM TWO TO OLD 



AGE. THE HORSE OF MEDIUM SIZE TO BE TAKEN AS A STANDARD. SHOOTING UP AND 



GRINDING OFF. IRREGULAR TEETH ; HOW TO JUDGE. PECULIAR HARDNESS OP BONES 



AND SLOWNESS OP CHANGE IN CERTAIN BREEDS. THE MULE; AGE HARD TO FIND OUT 



WITH EXACTNESS. DECEPTIONS ; HOW TO DETECT. CRIB BITERS ; HOW TO EXAMINE. 



TERMS DEFINED. 



The age of a horse is to be accurately determmed only by an examina- 

 tion of the teeth, with a knowledge of the changes which, from time to 

 time, take place in them. The following directions, studied in connec- 

 tion with the drawings exhibited on the accompanying chart, and the ex- 

 planations written under them, will enable any one of ordinary acuteness 

 and powers of observation, to judge for himself, and thus to avoid that 

 most common of all the jockey's impositions, a liability to be deceived 

 in the age of horses held for sale. 



The incisors furnish the chief indications ; and to them the attention 

 must be mostly directed ; but the back and hook teeth should be observed 

 to some extent, as their condition may occasionally serve to correct and 

 more frequently to corroborate the indications of the incisors. 



When first foaled, the colt has no incisors. Twelve back teeth have in 

 most cases forced their points by this time through the gums ; but it is 

 not until from two to three months afterward that the four nippers ap- 

 pear ; in six weeks the nippers are seen ; and in about eight months the 

 four comer teeth. There are now, at eight or nine months old, twenty- 



